User Profile

Versi bahasa Indonesia di sini http://jktmike.livejournal.com/
Русская версия здесь http://m-tsyganov.livejournal.com/
A much older Russian version is here http://m-tsyganov.livejournal.com/
As some of posts are 99% photos a repost is not always needed. In such cases I would just provide a link to the post in Russian: practically all of them have 'highlights' in English.
Over 3,000 photos by me are here: http://fotki.yandex.ru/users/MikeJkt/albums/
And here are videos: http://profile.imageshack.us/user/MikeJkt & http://s255.photobucket.com/albums/hh138/MikeJkt/

You are welcome to download any photo or video content for your PERSONAL use.
For those interested in BATIK I recommend this recently opened trilingual Internet-portal - and we would be most grateful for any new content you add there http://batic.jhh.msk.ru/ as it is still under construction

WARNING!!! This is NOT a politically correct blog. I have had more than enough of political correctness under the Soviet Union so now I'm still taking a well deserved holiday.
Those obsessed with political correctness may read it at their own risk :-)
The only thing prohibited here is a personal insult of any kind. Probably I have got soft here among polite Indonesians…

A LETTER FROM JAKARTA
The main theme of this blog is Southeast Asia (mostly Indonesia) - by my very OWN eyes. I mean as I PERSONALLY see them. The main hero is (are?) over 700 various peoples speaking over 800 languages that inhabit about 6,000 out of over 17,000 of these islands that are so rich in history and culture that they taken for granted here.

That's why my hero(es) need(s) an interpreter. Somebody else who has come from another vast country with many religions and languages and cultures so that he would have a better background for UNDERSTANDING Indonesia. And that is myself.

I have first come to this Wonderland in 1967 (as a seven year old) and was hypnotized almost immediately. So strongly, that in 1982 I have graduated summa cum laude from Moscow State University's College of Afro-Asian Studies with degrees in Indonesian history and Indonesian language (you might be surprised, but we have excellent Orientalist schools in Russia, which is only logical: we are half-Asian ourselves and I am saying that with pride :-)
After graduating I have immediately started working at the editorial office for Asia of the Soviet TASS information agency and never stopped until the breakdown of the Soviet Union (last posting as the Bureau chief in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia).

In this blog I would avoid politics as much as possible but here is something I need to explain. You may think anything - just anything - about the late Soviet Union, but its breakdown was REALLY a great HUMAN tragedy. Millions of families became divided by state borders appearing in one night, economy has - quite naturally - collapsed and hundreds of thousands were cruelly murdered in the turmoil that followed… That is pretty well known - at least in Russia - but people abroad seldom understand another aspect of that tragedy: tens of millions suddenly found out overnight that their profession (and to many of them it was also a mission) was not needed any more. Including myself…

I was lucky. I have managed to survive the difficult years that followed. And when our country has stabilized a little and working as a journalist has once again become possible I have returned and now for over four years am working as RIA Novosti's correspondent for Southeast Asia.

To read this blog from the very beginning click tag !first, open the post and then keep on clicking 'Next entry'. Other SPECIAL TAGS are: !advice - on Indonesia, naturally; '!hotel' explains the rules for my personal rating of 'hotel'; Bali temples - 'puri', temples on other islands - 'candi'; underwater photos - 'underwater', traditional medicine - 'jamu'. (All these would appear shortly)

FAQ:
I would do my best to answer any of your practical QUESTIONS on Indonesia - as soon as I can. But kindly see tag '!advice' first - maybe it was already answered there.

There is no OFF-TOP in this blog: all questions related to Indonesia are welcome. But when possible kindly try to ask them at posts related to the theme of your question…

I allow COMMENTS from everybody but ask you to sign them - initials or nicks are quite enough. It's difficult to answer when one can't address the person he's answering…

My FRIENDS POLICY: anybody willing to have me as their friend is most welcome to do so. But I can't guarantee it would be mutual - I already have hundreds of friends all over the world :-) and it takes a lot of time to read what they are writing…

For PHOTOS on land I'm using Nikon 8800 (since quite recently - also Nikon D80), under water - Olympus μ725 SW with no protecting casing (one doesn't need to be a diver in Indonesia to see the best of corals and fish).

Friends (17):

Mutual Friends (7):

Also Friend of (4):